Phoenician Expansion during the Iron Age

Where the Phoenicians came from and early trade in the Mediterranean

Who were the Phoenicians? Where was Phoenicia? What were the Byblos ships? From their Canaanite origins to their early trading in the eastern Mediterranean.

By Nick Nutter on 2025-02-5 | Last Updated 2025-02-5 | Phoenician Expansion during the Iron Age

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Artists impression of the ancient offshore city of Tyre

Who were the Phoenicians?

The Phoenicians, renowned seafarers and traders of the ancient Mediterranean, have long captivated the imagination. Recent scholarship has shed new light on their origins, their arrival in places like Spain, and their interactions with Indigenous populations. This exploration of the Phoenicians in Andalucia will delve into the story of these influential people and their legacy.

The term "Phoenician" itself is a Greek designation, derived from phoinikes, meaning "purple people," a reference to the prized purple dye produced in Tyre and used to colour both textiles and people.

Where was Phoenicia?

Phoenicia in the Levant

The people we know as Phoenicians likely did not consider themselves a unified nation. They inhabited a narrow coastal strip in the Levant, stretching from modern-day Lebanon to Israel. While sharing linguistic, cultural, and religious traits, and recognizing a common ancestry as Canaanites, their society was organized around independent city-states, each with its own king and distinct loyalties. That strip of land became known as Phoenicia.

Tracing the Phoenicians using DNA

A 2004 DNA study, conducted in Lebanon and other Mediterranean locations, aimed to trace the Phoenician migration patterns. The study suggested a connection to a population in the Levant dating back over 12,000 years. This period coincides with the Younger Dryas, a significant climatic event that occurred between approximately 12,900 and 11,700 years ago, a cold snap interrupting the general warming trend after the last glacial maximum.

The Natufians
The Levant during this period, between roughly 12,500 and 9,500 BCE, was home to the Natufian culture. Unusually for hunter-gatherers of this era, the Natufians exhibited semi-sedentary or even fully sedentary lifestyles, predating the widespread adoption of agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution. Some scholars believe the Younger Dryas may have spurred the development of these early agricultural practices. Even at this early stage, evidence suggests connections between the Levant and surrounding regions, including Egypt (indicated by Nile shellfish found at Ain Mallaha), Anatolia (evidenced by obsidian from Anatolia at the same site), and the Fertile Crescent to the east, the first region to experience the innovations of the Neolithic, which originated in the Levant.

Founding of Byblos, Sidon and Tyre

Byblos today showing protected harbour

The Neolithic period saw the rise of permanent settlements. Initially small, these settlements grew into hamlets, villages, and eventually towns and cities. This growth necessitated more complex infrastructure, specialized labour, and administrative systems. Each of the towns and cities developed its own specialised activities.

Around 6000 to 5000 BC, a fishing settlement emerged at the site of modern Byblos, Lebanon. The Canaanites called their town Gubla. By approximately 4500 BC, Gubla had developed into a small town. It became, along with Berytus (modern day Beirut), a notable trade and religious centre and the first of the Canaanite city-states to trade with Egypt.

About 4000 BC, Sidon appears in historical records and became an important maritime trade centre. ‘Men of Sidon’ traditionally founded Utica in North Africa in c 1101 BC (according to Pliny the Elder), although that date is highly contentious. It is more likely that Utica was founded a short time before Carthage (814 BC).

Traditionally, Tyre was founded in c 2750 BC. From the 9th to the 6th centuries BC, it was to become the most prominent and longest lasting of the Phoenician maritime trading centres. People from Tyre established the cities of Carthage and Leptis Magna in North Africa and supplied the merchants who acted at agents at settlements throughout the Mediterranean.

The Canaanite city-states competed with one another in matters of trade.

Byblos Trade with Egypt
Byblos established trade relations with Egypt. Between 3500 and 3200 BC, a temple was constructed at Hierakonpolis in Upper Egypt, featuring a facade supported by large cedar pillars. These cedars originated in Lebanon and were likely transported by sea to Egypt by the people of Byblos. After being towed from the Lebanon, the cedar logs were probably transferred at the Nile delta to Egyptian river boats, which then carried them upstream. Cedar wood, scarce in Egypt, became a highly valued commodity among the Egyptian elite. The Byblos ships also carried olive oil and wine to Egypt and returned with gold.

Byblos Ships

The gauloi, Phoenician sea-going merchant vessel - artists impression

Such was the fame of the Byblos traders that the term ‘Byblos ships’ started to appear in historical records as far back as the 3rd millennium BC.

Early Dynastic Egypt (c. 3100-2686 BC): Evidence suggests that trade between Egypt and Byblos was already established during this period. Cedarwood from Lebanon was highly prized in Egypt, and ships from Byblos were essential for transporting this valuable resource.

Old Kingdom (c. 2686-2181 BC): During the Old Kingdom, particularly the 4th to 6th Dynasties, the relationship between Egypt and Byblos intensified. Egyptian records, including inscriptions on Pharaoh Cheops' burial barge and reliefs from Memphis, mention "Byblos boats" and their role in transporting goods to Egypt. These records indicate that Byblos was a significant source of ships for the Egyptians, who often relied on imported vessels for their maritime activities.

Middle Kingdom (c. 2055-1650 BC): Mentions of Byblos and its ships continue in texts from the Middle Kingdom, such as coffin texts and execration texts. These sources further emphasize the importance of Byblos as a trading partner and its ships as vital for maritime transport.

The Voyage of Wenamun

The hippoi, Phoenician inshore trading vessel

On a papyrus, which was found stuffed into a pot somewhere south of Cairo, which is currently and inexplicably housed in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, is an account of a voyage that took place about 1075 BC. As is typical of the day, the account is full of literary sentiment wrapped around historically verifiable facts. Ignoring the tumultuous storms, sea monsters, luscious seductresses and glamorous female protectresses, we find an incredible picture of maritime trading between Egypt and Byblos at the beginning of the Third Intermediate Period (1077 – 943 BC).

Wenamun, as the story goes, was on a mission to obtain cedar wood from Byblos that would be used to rebuild the sacred boat of Amun. He set off with letters of recommendation from the High Priests of Amun at Thebes, who, after 1077 BC, ruled Middle and Upper Egypt, together with a quantity of silver and gold.

Even before he left the Nile Delta, Wenamun had problems with Smendes, the potentate of Lower Egypt (and founder and pharaoh of the first Dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian Third Intermediate Period). Smendes confiscated Wenamun’s letters of introduction and delayed him on his passage through the Delta.

Regardless, Wenamun pushed on, carried on a foreign ship arranged by Smendes. He left the Delta and sailed up the south coast of the Levant as far as Dor in northern Israel. Dor at this time was a thriving port and already had a quay some 35 metres long. The remains of the quay can still be seen and is the oldest to survive in the Mediterranean. On docking at Dor, a seaman from the ship absconded, together with the gold and silver. Wenamun was left with no protection, other than a figurine of Amun, his travelling god, akin to the one found on the Uluburun wreck.

How Wenamun managed to go further is not revealed but, heading north via Tyre and Sidon he arrived at Byblos. At Sidon, Wenamun records fifty ships on the Egyptian run being loaded or unloaded, and at Byblos a further twenty. Zakar-Baal, the lord of Byblos, kept Wenamun waiting one month before granting him an audience. Without his letters, and relying on appeals to ancient custom, vague threats about Egyptian overlordship and blessings from Amun, Wenamun was unable to persuade Zakar-Baal to part with any timber.

Clearly, Zakar-Baal was not intimidated by an Egypt that was no longer all supreme in the region, and demanded goods of a high value, rather than promises of goods to come, before he would allow any cedar to be felled. He pointedly remarked on the high value of cargoes sent to his predecessors as gifts and in exchange for goods when Egypt was at its most powerful in the region, presumably referring to the Amarna period between 1353 and 1322 BC.

Wenamun sent a message to Smendes and three months later, making it eight months after Wenamun had departed Thebes, a ship arrived carrying gold, silver, linen, beef, fish, lentils, and rope. A personal package of food and clothes, sent by Smendes’s wife, was also on the arriving ship. One can only assume that Zakar-Baal’s hospitality did not run beyond providing starvation rations for visiting emissaries from Egypt.

While he waited, Zakar-Baal had entertained Wenamun by showing him the graves of earlier emissaries that had been detained until they died.

Satisfied with the payment, Zakar-Baal ordered 300 lumberjacks and as many oxen into the mountains.

With his ship loaded with cedar, Wenamun set sail for Egypt, narrowly avoiding a squadron of ships out of Dor that were patrolling offshore. You will remember from above, that the Canaanite city-states competed. In this case the competition went as far as, to all intents and purposes, piracy on the high seas. There is a curious entry in the account here of Zakar-Baal sending a resident Egyptian entertainer called Tinetnit, along with mutton and wine, to cheer the by now disconsolate traveller.

Unfortunately for Wenamun, after avoiding the Dor patrol, adverse winds blew his ship northwest where he made landfall on Cyprus. Here we learn that a vengeful mob were waiting for the ‘Byblos ship’ and that Wenamun was only saved by an Egyptian speaking Egyptian lady (beautiful of course), who took him into her house. In these uncertain times, the unannounced appearance of a foreign ship obviously caused some trepidation on Cyprus. Was the Egyptian lady an agent for Egyptian traders to Cyprus? Sadly, we shall never know.

Wenamun did eventually arrive back at Thebes judging from the inscriptions at Karnak that celebrate the inauguration of Amun’s new boat.

References

Origin and Identity
Markoe, G. (2000). Phoenicians. University of California Press. This book explores Phoenician culture, religion, and trade, and discusses their self-perception and interactions with other Mediterranean cultures. It supports the idea that they identified with their city-states rather than a unified "Phoenician" identity.
Aubet, M. E. (2001). The Phoenicians. Gorgias Press. This work delves into the history and archaeology of the Phoenicians, including their origins in the Levant and their expansion throughout the Mediterranean. It discusses the term "Phoenician" and its Greek origins.
Boardman, J. (1999). The Phoenicians. Thames & Hudson. A comprehensive overview of Phoenician civilization, covering their history, art, and trade networks. It discusses the term "Phoenician" and its evolution.

DNA Study:
Wells, R. S., Abu-Ata, A., Jammal, M., & al-Zaheri, N. (2004). Ancient DNA analysis confirms Phoenician origins in the Near East. American Journal of Human Genetics, 74(6), 1190-1197. This is the actual study mentioned in the article. It's important to note that while it suggests a genetic link between modern Lebanese populations and ancient Phoenicians, genetic studies are complex, and interpretations can be debated. It doesn't necessarily pinpoint a single origin 12,000 years ago. Genetic research on ancient populations is ongoing and evolving.

Natufians and the Neolithic:
Bar-Yosef, O. (1998). The Natufian Culture in the Levant. Archaeological Series 9. Ann Arbor, MI: Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan. This work is a key source on the Natufian culture, exploring their semi-sedentary lifestyle and their role in the transition to agriculture.
Henry, D. O. (1989). From Foraging to Agriculture: The Levant at the End of the Ice Age. University of Pennsylvania Press. This book examines the archaeological evidence for the shift from hunter-gatherer societies to agricultural communities in the Levant, focusing on the Natufian period.

Byblos and Trade with Egypt:
Saghieh, M. (1983). Byblos in the Third Millennium B.C.: A Study of the Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age. British Archaeological Reports International Series 164. This work examines the archaeological evidence from Byblos, including its early development and trade connections.
Redford, D. B. (1992). Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. Princeton University Press. This book discusses the interactions between Egypt and its neighbours, including the trade relationship with Byblos and the importance of cedarwood.

Byblos Ships
Primary Sources
Inscriptions on Pharaoh Cheops' burial barge: These inscriptions, dating back to the Old Kingdom (c. 2686-2181 BC), are among the earliest mentions of "Byblos boats" and their role in transporting goods, particularly cedarwood, to Egypt. Unfortunately, these inscriptions are fragmentary and require specialized knowledge to interpret fully. You can find discussions of them in scholarly works on Egyptian shipbuilding and trade.
Reliefs from Memphis: These reliefs, dating from the 5th Dynasty (c. 2500 BC), depict ships that are believed to be "Byblos ships" arriving in Egypt. They provide visual evidence of these vessels and their importance in Egyptian maritime activities. Again, these require specialist interpretation but are often cited in works on Egyptian art and archaeology.
The "Ship of Khufu" (Cheops' boat): While not a "Byblos ship" in the sense of being built there, this remarkably preserved vessel, found near the Great Pyramid, is constructed from cedarwood from Lebanon and provides valuable insights into ancient Egyptian shipbuilding techniques and the importance of this wood from Byblos.

Secondary Sources:
"Byblos in Ancient Records" by Elias Semaan (Andrews University Seminary Studies): This article delves into the historical records mentioning Byblos, including Egyptian and Mesopotamian texts. It discusses the various spellings of "Byblos" in ancient languages and analyses the references to "Byblos ships" and their significance in trade. You can find this article online through the Andrews University Digital Commons.
"Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology" by Paul T. Nicholson and Ian Shaw: This book provides a comprehensive overview of ancient Egyptian technologies, including shipbuilding. It discusses the types of ships used by the Egyptians, their construction methods, and the sources of materials like cedarwood from Byblos.
"The Oxford Handbook of Maritime Archaeology" edited by Nicolas C. Flemming: This handbook covers various aspects of maritime archaeology, including ancient shipbuilding and trade.
"The Phoenicians" by Maria Eugenia Aubet: This book explores Phoenician history and culture, including their maritime activities and trade connections.